This week, at the UW School of Pharmacy Dean’s Recognition Reception, Jeff Rochon, PharmD, ’99, will be named the School’s 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award in Pharmacy Practice, Rochon, the Chief Executive Officer of the Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA), is a leader in the Washington State pharmacy community who has had a significant impact on pharmacy practice, pharmacy education and patient care statewide and nationally..
“It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award,” said Rochon. “I am humbled, and I am so grateful for the influence and guidance of so many mentors along the way who have afforded me the opportunity to do what I love everyday.”
Rochon received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Washington in 1999. As a student, he co-founded and was the first president of the Unified Professional Pharmacy Organizations of Washington (UPPOW) — the UW’s student professional pharmacy organization that is now nationally recognized for its outreach programs and development opportunities. At his graduation, he was honored with the Alumni Professional Excellence Award for his leadership and many contributions as a student. Since entering the field of pharmacy, Rochon has devoted his career to finding innovative ways to enhance the practice of pharmacy in his own work and for the profession.
As a pharmacist and pharmaceutical care director at Kelley-Ross Pharmacy, he helped develop immunization and emergency contraception programs as well as chronic disease state screening and management programs. At the Polyclinic in Seattle, he developed and ran an anticoagulation clinic using prescriptive authority through the collaborative drug therapy agreement.
In 2002, Rochon joined the WSPA as the director of professional development. He became the Chief Executive Officer in 2008. His time at the association has been highly productive. His accomplishments include creating and coordinating ACPE-accredited continuing education opportunities for pharmacists and technicians, regularly advocating in Olympia on behalf of pharmacy and patients, implementing statewide medication-therapy management programs and establishing longstanding working relationships with entities such as the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, just to name a few.
“Jeff has been a pharmacy leader since the day he entered pharmacy school at the UW,” said I2P2 Clinical Endowed Professor Don Downing, who long collaborated with Rochon professionally for the past decade on efforts to enhance pharmacy practice. “He is a change agent and leader, and I look forward to seeing what he continues to accomplish on behalf of pharmacists moving forward.”
His list of academic presentations is long and covers topics including professional development, medication therapy management, tobacco cessation, community health screening and payment for pharmacy care services. In addition to lecturing on such topics at the UW and WSU Schools of Pharmacy, he has also presented at multiple national, regional and state conventions. His volunteer appointments have included multiple positions with the American Pharmacists Association and an appointment in the Phi Lambda Sigma National Pharmacy Leadership Fraternity Beta Gamma Chapter. In 2004, he was named WSPA’s Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year.
A proud Husky to his core, Rochon has also served as a board member of the UW Pharmacy Alumni Association and the UW Alumni Association. He has also lobbied for state funding for higher education as a board member of the nonprofit advocacy organization UW Impact, an organization that seeks to increase awareness of the role the UW plays in Washington and to provide opportunities for alumni and community members to take action. He is also on of the School of Pharmacy’s Pharmacy Practice Board, where he helps the School in its quest to consistently evolve and enhance its PharmD program. Rochon can regularly be found attending or volunteering at UW PharmD student fundraisers, health fairs and other outreach activities that allow him to mentor the next generation of pharmacists. He is well-known and respected by countless students for the guidance he provides them each year at the annual Pharmacy Legislative Day event in Olympia.
Ultimately, Jeff Rochon is a tireless advocate for enhancing pharmacy practice and improving patient care. And he is devoted to helping to ensure that the future generations of pharmacists in this state have increased opportunities in their profession. For these reasons and many more, the School of Pharmacy is proud to name him its Distinguished Alumnus.
~May 7, 2013